I think we need our own 'Post an Old Coin and and an Old Tune' thread

[Ten-Speed]

16 hours ago, JeandAcre said:

Norman Sicily.  Roger II, 1105-1154.  Follaro; typically, drastically reduced weight and module, relative to Byzantine prototypes.  Messina, 1138-9.

Obv.  Neo-Byzantine facing Christ; 'IC [/ XC] in field[s]. 

Rev.  Arabic inscription, to all appearances, funly literate.  (Trans.) 'By order / Of the King the magnificent Roger / the powerful through God.'  ...Yep, some issues include the Kalima; this just ain't one of 'em.  ...There are Latin and Arabic legends, and Byzantine motifs, all over the series.  Pretty cosmopolitan for the immediate descendants of a bunch of unwashed barbarians from northern Europel

Andrea / Contreras (trans.), The Normans's [sic] Coins of the Kingdom of Sicily 229.  Citing MEC vol. 14 no. 197, and numerous Italian references. 

This put me in mind of the Strait of Messina, and its association with the monsters Scylla and Charybdis in the Odyssey.  Having read bits of Homer at an impressionable age, I always imagined that the topgraphy on either side side of the strait would be no less daunting.  Nope; all that made the strait so notoriously treacherous were the unusual currents, between the narrowness and the depth of the water.  To either side, the land was decidedly on the flat side.

...But I'm stuck with how I first visualized it.  (Disclaimer: didn't have a tv when this was airing, but there were committed fans at work.  Heard all I needed to about it.)  I have to hear some very coolly subtle rhythmic nuance, within the otherwise relentless minimalism of the melody and the time signature. 

 

 

That Strait of Messina reminds me of the roiling waters of Spuyten Dyvil at the tip of Manhattan...you can see it from the trains (either Amtrak or Metro North)...the Spouting Devil..

Edited June 20 by Ten-Speed

[Ten-Speed]

1939

1939 I Vatican 5L Y-28; Peter in the storm, pleading for help. This coins was issued as WWII was beginning and one wonders if the choice of motif reflected the international scene. This device has been on other Papal (i.e., before 1929) coins of the past five centuries; perhaps it also reflected the impending doom of those years? Churchill's first book in his six-volume account of WWI was titled "The Gathering Storm."

Beethoven Symphony #6

Watch the drummer!  🙂

 

 

 

 

Edited June 20 by Ten-Speed

[Phil Anthos]

I'm using the sea for water here, but the spirit is the same. I'd like this song to be playing when I draw my last breathe...

Taras, Calabria

276-272 BC AR Litra (11mm, 0.64g, 12h) O: Scallop shell with nine teeth. R: Dolphin leaping right; small dolphin left above, |-HΦ below. D'Andrea XLII, 1265; Vlasto 1489 (this coin); McGill II, 182; HN Italy 979 From the M.P Vlasto Collection. ex MNS Vlasto plate coin, #1489.

[expat]

With Thunder the band, it can only be paired with Zeus, God of sky and thunder

SELEUCIS & PIERIA. Antioch. Ae Tetrachalkon (63-28 BC). Uncertain date.
Obv: Laureate head of Zeus right.
Rev: ANTIOXEΩN THΣ MHTPOΠOΛEΩΣ.
Zeus seated left on throne, holding crowning Nike and sceptre; [date] in exergue 7,64 g - 19,21 mm

Edited June 20 by expat

[Roman Collector]

I have always been a huge fan of The Cars. This is one of my favorites.

 

Here's a dangerous type, a Ptolemaic queen, Lysimachos's wife, Arsinoe II. She was the daughter of Ptolemy I and Berenice. Lysimachos divorced Amastris to marry her and then bequeathed to her all the territories that had belonged to Amastris! She then brought about the murder of her stepson, Agathocles, the elder son of Lysimachus by his first marriage, to secure the succession for her own children!

In her honor, Lysimachos renamed the city of Ephesus to Arsinoeia! This was struck there.


Arsinoe II, wife of Lysimachus, born c. 316 BCE.
Greek Æ 15.5 mm, 4.16 g, 12 h.
Ionia, Ephesos (as Arsinoeia), c. 290-281 BCE.
Obv: Head of Arsinoe, r., veiled.
Rev: Stag kneeling l., head r.; ΑΡ-ΣΙ flanking stag's neck; magistrate's name ΜΕΛΑΙΝΕΥΣ before; Astragalus in upper r. field.
Refs: BMC 14.56, 72 var. (magistrate); SNG Cop 258-59 var. (magistrate); Forrer 14.

[JeandAcre]

This is cribbed from this post, going back to last January.  

Sultanate of Kilwa. al-Hasan b. al-Sulayman, c. 715 AH /1315 CE. AE fals. Album 1183. (Of which I only have the second edition in print; @AnYangMan alerted me to the fact that Steve Album has made the third edition available for free download from his website.)
I really need to quote @AnYangMan’s remarkably thorough, erudite and insightful description and commentary (and this is leaving out his remarks on the unusual double borders):

“The inscription is quite neat. Nothing overly fancy or long lists of titles, but clear and to the point. And what is also fascinating is that the name of the Sultan (in this case Al-Hasan Bin Sulayman) rhymes with the name/epithet given to Allah on the reverse. On this coin it is (R-L):

الحسن بن Al-Hasan Ibn (Al-Hasan, son of)

سليمان Sulayman (Sulayman)

عز نصره Azza Nasra (may his victory increase, this last line is a bit skewed)

“And on the rev in three lines (there is a four line variety as well):

يثق Yathiq (trusts)

بالواحد Bi’l-Wahid (In the One)

المنان Al-Mannan (the bountiful)

“The modern Arabic of course doesn't match the Medieval calligraphy perfectly, but I think you can see whats going on when you put the coin and these next to eachother!

“You can also see how the name of the Sultan rhymes with the title of Allah given: Sulayman – Mannan. On different coins of different rulers, this still holds true, each time a different one of the many names of god in the Islamic tradition is given. On coins of Al-Husayn Ibn Ahmad for example he is called ‘The eternal’ (Samad), etc. And they say Islamic coinage is boring just because it doesn’t have any imagery!”

Well, anyway, as of the 14th c. CE, folks on both coasts of a very large continent were fluent in Arabic.  (Timbuktu was a university town as of the preceding century.  Why didn't they tell me that in grade school?)

Two balafons, three korahs.  As in all music that's good enough, the video adds an entire dimension to the dynamics between the performers. 

 

Edited June 21 by JeandAcre

[expat]

The horses are sure jumpy

T Cloelius AR Denarius. 128 BC.
ROMA, head of Roma right, wearing a winged helmet, laurel wreath behind / Victory in biga right, horses rearing; grain ear below, T CLOVLI in ex.
Cloulia 1, Crawford 260/1; Syd 516. 19 mm, 3,83 g

[Ten-Speed]

Wellington Peninsula Tokens

The Peninsular Tokens were struck for use by Wellington's Army in Portugal and Spain. Specimens were brought to Canada by troops sent over to fight the Americans in 1814.

 

Beethoven composed Wellington's Victory Symphony

 

 

[Phil Anthos]

13 minutes ago, Ten-Speed said:

Wellington Peninsula Tokens

The Peninsular Tokens were struck for use by Wellington's Army in Portugal and Spain. Specimens were brought to Canada by troops sent over to fight the Americans in 1814.

 

Beethoven composed Wellington's Victory Symphony

 

 

Not as dynamic as what he wrote for Bonaparte, but for a much better cause. 

~ Peter 

[JeandAcre]

Yeah...  Why do the bad guys get all the press?

[JeandAcre]

Here's more of what I need right now.  First, another reposted coin.

Aksum, anonymous, c. 5th c.  (Watch This: it's because they were Christians that I'm not playing with 'CE.')

Obv. The king, crowned, holding a scepter.  (From 7 o'clock:) BAX + A CA. [Uncertain, especially since this is too early to be reducible to anything as easy as a blundering of the Greek 'BACILEOC.')

Rev.  Cross, gold inlay in center.  The legend retains the formulaic Greek legend, 'May this please the people /nation.'

And I needed some Niabinghi.  Rastas believe that this drumming style goes all the way back to Ethiopia.  Can't tell you about that.  But again, the video --along with some amazing views of the Jamaican hill country-- gives you more of the dynamics between the musicians.  I have to think that one of the grownups, to either side of the kid, is his dad.  A sweetly edifying vibe.

 

                    

[Phil Anthos]

Hey Jupiter...

Severus Alexander / Jupiter

222-231 AD AE Sestertius (27mm, 19.30g) O: Laureate head right, slight drapery over left shoulder; IMP SEV ALEXANDER AVG. R: Jupiter standing left, holding lightning bolt and sceptre, Alexander at his feet; IOVI CONSERVATORI, S-C. RIC 558 / Cohen 74 / BMC 692 / Sear 2246 "What you would not have done to yourselves, never do unto others."

[expat]

Julia Avita Mamaea was the Mother of Severus Alexander. She advised and guided him through his period of being Emperor.

Julia  Mamaea Denarius. IVLIA MAMAEA AVG, diademed and draped bust right / VESTA, Vesta standing half-left, holding palladium and sceptre.  
RIC 360, Sear 8217,  RSC 81.
 Augusta AD 225-235. Rome
Denarius AR 20 mm, 3,43 g

[Roman Collector]

Letters to Cleo was a short-lived band, but they liked all the music I did! They have great cover versions of "Dangerous Type" (The Cars) and "I Want You to Want Me" (Cheap Trick), in addition to this one, originally by Nick Lowe. 

And here's someone who was cruel not to be kind, but for cruelty's sake.

Caracalla, 198-217 CE.
Roman AR Denarius 3.37 g, 19.7 mm.
Rome mint, 211 CE.
Obv: ANTONINVS PIVS AVG BRIT, laureate head, right.
Rev: INDVLG FECVNDAE, Julia Domna as Indulgentia, wearing polos, seated left on cerule chair, extending right hand and holding scepter.
Refs: RIC 214; BMCRE 73; RCV 6805.

[Ten-Speed]

I Make a Vow

Julian II, Sears 19168

 

 

 

"Promises, Promises" sung by Dionne Warwick on "The Ed Sullivan Show"

 

[Ten-Speed]

On 6/21/2024 at 8:48 PM, JeandAcre said:

Here's more of what I need right now.  First, another reposted coin.

Aksum, anonymous, c. 5th c.  (Watch This: it's because they were Christians that I'm not playing with 'CE.')

Obv. The king, crowned, holding a scepter.  (From 7 o'clock:) BAX + A CA. [Uncertain, especially since this is too early to be reducible to anything as easy as a blundering of the Greek 'BACILEOC.')

Rev.  Cross, gold inlay in center.  The legend retains the formulaic Greek legend, 'May this please the people /nation.'

And I needed some Niabinghi.  Rastas believe that this drumming style goes all the way back to Ethiopia.  Can't tell you about that.  But again, the video --along with some amazing views of the Jamaican hill country-- gives you more of the dynamics between the musicians.  I have to think that one of the grownups, to either side of the kid, is his dad.  A sweetly edifying vibe.

 

                    

So elegant, so beautiful. And without the allure of electronic gadgets.

[Phil Anthos]

One of my all time favorite sleeper movies is Local Hero, and the theme music by Mark Knopfler is beautiful. Although I find most of Dire Straits' songs a bit pedestrian I also think Knopfler is ironically one of the planets' most emotive guitar players. 

Herakles was a local hero at Taras, so if this isn't too much of a dire stretch then let's be Going Home...

Taras, Calabria

302-290 BC AR Diobol (11mm, 1.07g) O: Head of young Herakles right, wearing lion skin headdress. R: Herakles standing right, strangling the Nemean lion; A-T above, club and astragalos behind, Φ between legs. D'Andrea XXXIX, 889; D'Andrea Diobols F, 146; Vlasto 1356; Cote 190; HN Italy 978; Sear 352 Scarce ex CDMA Here once again is the battle scene being played out between Herakles and the Nemean lion, however on this coin we see the head of a relatively young Herakles in place of the usual helmeted Athena. This variation is much scarcer than most of the Athena types.

[JeandAcre]

@Phil Anthos, you've got my vote about Mark Knopfler.  ...I think the guitar solo is what made 'Sultans of Swing.'  Not that I thought the song was that bad....

[Ten-Speed]

This beat-up, but rare, 1916 Russian 5 Kopec coin is hurting, and has been through the war. (Would a pristine piece tell a more truthful story of that decade?) The coin has lost its beauty, ideologies have come and gone, yet the piano sonatas of A. Scriabin remain just as they were, and are even more beautiful today, a hundred years later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scriabin - Etude Op. 8 No. 12 - YouTube.html

Edited Wednesday at 02:32 PM by Ten-Speed

[JeandAcre]

Many thanks, @Ten-Speed, for signally broadening my horizons!  Where late Romanticism, never mind early post-Romanticism are concerned, I need all the help I can get. 

Cribbing from WIkipedia, Scriabin's own transition from the influence of Chopin to what looks to have been a highly individualized emphasis on 'dissonance' has to evoke the shift in Beethoven from Haydn and Mozart toward what amounts to nascent Romanticism.

[Ten-Speed]

Canadian Large Cents have a devoted following. There are many different varieties that may be collected. The most frequently sought are among those minted in Queen Victoria's reign. Specifically, the 1859 cents have several important varieties.

 

With respect to our neighbors of the North:

 

[expat]

My immediate mental image was of Otho and his penchant for hairpieces

RPC Volume: I №: 4319
Reign: Otho Persons: Otho (Augustus)
City: Antioch  Region: Syria Province: Syria
Denomination: Æ Semis (average size 22 mm). Issue: year 117 (AD 69)
Obverse: IMP M OTHO CAE AVG ; laureate head of Otho, right
Reverse: S C; inscription in a laurel wreath of eight leaves
Reference: BMC 213, McAlee 323c Specimens: 9
23 mm, 6,34 g

[Roman Collector]

The 5th Dimension reminds me of summer as a little kid. 

 

And what's a summer picnic without chicken?

Pseudo-autonomous.
Roman provincial Æ 13 mm, 1.2 g.
Antioch, Pisidia, time of Antoninus Pius, 138-161 CE.
Obv: ANTIOCH, draped bust of Mercury/Hermes (head assimilated to portrait of Marcus Aurelius as Caesar), left; to right, caduceus.
Rev: COLONI, chicken walking right.
Refs: RPC IV.3, 7350 (temporary); BMC 19.176,1 (pl. XXXI, 1); SNG von Aulock 4916; Krzyżanowska 140–1, VII.7–9; cf. SNG BN 1067.